The Colour Red
by charmony
Summary: NPH 10 - Maine has a serial rapist and it's back to the real world for our newlyweds as they race the clock to keep the women of Augusta safe. Also, Emily and Hotch adjust to the news given them by their doctor.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Back again with NPH 10. So exciting! I'm having so much fun with this.**

**I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone who followed my last piece, Going to the Chapel and to mention those who reviewed that NPH instalment: fanficlover, miaa29 and PandaMeetsSquirrel…this one's dedicated to the three of you.**

**PLEASE NOTE: This is NPH 10. If you aren't already following this series, I recommend that you make your way to my author profile page and start with NPH 1, as some or all of this will not make sense otherwise.**

**DISCLAIMER: I sadly do not own Criminal Minds, its storylines or characters. I can only claim to manipulate them for the purposes of this story.**

The Colour Red – Chapter 1

Emily sat in the chair in the waiting room with a cup of water and the distinct desire to murder the man currently pacing in front of her. Not only were his movements achieving the results of making her feel like she was on something moving; therefore producing nausea; but he was making her dizzy. She'd asked him to stop a few minutes ago and that had lasted a minute.

She dropped her head back against the wall and took a slow deep breath. She'd been ill on and off for the last week, making their honeymoon interesting as they explored their surroundings. She'd come to relish the moments where she could stop moving and just relax but those moments had been few and far between. Aaron had generously offered to cancel most of their activities, but despite her discomfort she had been having fun so she'd waved off the offer.

She'd come to the conclusion that either she did have cancer and this was a side effect or else the blood tests were wrong and she had an infection in the knee and this was still a side effect. Considering her knee was feeling better than it had been since the accident, she worried that the former theory was the correct one. Unfortunately, worrying only made her more unsettled and made the condition of her stomach worse.

She took another sip of water as a voice called her name. She opened her eyes and got slowly to her feet with some help from Aaron; deciding she'd forgive his tendency to need movement when he was nervous because he really was extremely good-looking and very attentive to her needs. It still didn't make the nausea go away however and she found as she went to move that she was dizzy and more.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," she muttered in a panicked voice.

Aaron swept her up off her feet and rushed her down the hall to the bathroom where he supported her body and head as she was violently ill. The doctor joined them a few minutes later with a glass of water and a wet cloth.

Emily took the glass and had a sip of the cool liquid with relief, though she eyed the fluid closely.

"What is this?"

"It's got a drop of a new anti-nausea drug in it. It's still pretty experimental or else I'd outright give you a complete dose. How do you feel?"

"Surprisingly better."

"Just sip the water; if you drink it too fast, research has shown it won't do you as much good."

Aaron used the cloth to cool her temperature as she leaned more fully on him. He looked at the doctor and asked softly, "Do we know anything more concrete?"

"Do you feel up to making it into my office Emily?"

She nodded and slowly made her way out of the bathroom and down the hall.

"I'm glad there was no one else about to witness that embarrassment."

The doctor rested his chest on his joined hands and sighed. "I wish I could tell you it won't ever be witnessed but chances are good someone will see you throwing up sometime in the near future."

She looked at him in horror. "You mean I've got cancer and I'm going to need chemotherapy?"

He laughed softly. "Nope; your blood came back negative for cancer and your white cell count is delightfully normal so I'll be taking more blood for a conclusive test. Certain lab techs are being closely investigated as we speak while they try to find who 'your' blood actually belonged to. Take a breath for me now and put your head down between your knees." He moved around his desk and helped her get her head down. "Just stay down there until the dizziness passes and breathe."

Several minutes later she slowly sat back up. "Better? Good; now we can get to the juicy bit. I will be sending you to give me a urine sample in a minute."

"What _did_ you find?" Aaron demanded as a thought began to blossom in the back of his mind. He shot his wife's pale face a look and flicked a brief glance at her abdomen. It would explain the nausea, vomiting and her sudden dizziness.

"The test that just came back did reveal something else I found interesting. Emily, when was your last period?"

She opened her mouth, closed it and frowned slightly. "Do you know, I honestly don't remember but I'm pretty certain I'm late and I'm…" her voice trailed off as a thought hit her and she lifted a hand to her abdomen. They hadn't been trying but they hadn't always been that careful either. She looked up at Aaron and found him watching her closely. He smiled suddenly at her and she grinned back.

Looking back at the doctor, she asked "Do you think I'm pregnant doc?"

"The blood tests indicate you are. A urine sample will allow us to run a pregnancy kit and if it comes back positive, I'll want to get you in for further tests immediately so we can start monitoring how everything progresses. I would have preferred you gave your pelvic region a little more time to recuperate from the accident but since we can't change what has already happened, we can definitely start preparing for what _may_ happen. The more we do preventatively, the better.

"However, first things first, let's get this news one hundred percent confirmed."

He sent her off to the bathroom with a little container and when she returned, he used her sample to run the most accurate pregnancy test currently on the market. A couple of minutes later, they had their answer.

He waited a moment as Emily and Aaron savoured the news they'd just been given before continuing. "As you were told back when the accident happened, delivering naturally is out of the question as there is no guarantee your pelvis will be able to handle it so we'll need to book you in for a caesarean section. The when of this will depend on several factors; how big the baby is and how your pelvis progresses with the growing strain on it. You'll be seeing me for weekly tests from now until your baby is born and we'll start assessing for a delivery date when you reach your third trimester."

"Will I have to stop working?"

"Of course not. For the most part, you'll be like any working mother-to-be; you'll just be more closely monitored than most and you may need to ride a desk for the last few months if the travelling puts any undue strain on you. We'll keep a close eye on your blood pressure and your stress levels. With luck your knee should be better by the time you start having to place additional weight on it and there are some easy exercises that will help with any additional pain caused by your pelvic region over the next months. Do you have time now for an initial scan?"

Aaron grinned. "That's the beauty of my being the boss. I'll just call in and let them know the meeting will be later than normal if we run late here."

The doctor smiled as he gestured them over to the side of the room. "Just a tip for you from one husband to another with a wife who worked through pregnancy; don't overdo the protective streak. As a father already, I'm sure you remember all the worry of the first time around. This time around, you need to trust Emily to know when to stop and what her body can handle. It'll be worse for you because you'll be working with her but she _is_ an extremely smart woman in addition to being an honest one and you need to believe that as such she won't be doing anything to harm this child."

Emily leaned her head on Aaron's shoulder as he helped her onto the table. "It's alright doc. I've no doubt we'll talk it all out in the near future and that everything will be fine." She added with a cheeky smile, "He can always sleep on the couch if anything goes wrong."

He shot her an amused look and lightly kissed the back of her hand. The doctor shifted her top up and unbuttoned the top few buttons of her pants before squirting a cold gel on her stomach.

"I'll explain this as I go."

"You don't need to; I was pregnant at 15 and I've been through all this before."

"Did you give the child up for adoption?"

Emily closed her eyes against the question and was comforted by Aaron's hand stroking through her hair.

"She chose to abort the pregnancy at the time."

"I see. Well, let's concentrate on the here and now, shall we?"

Emily mouthed a thank you at her husband as the doctor concentrated on moving the scanner about. He pressed a light kiss on her forehead and they both turned to watching the screen.

"Here we go kids."

She looked more eagerly at the screen. "What exactly am I meant to be seeing?"

The doctor pointed at a darker splodge in the centre of the image on the screen. "That there in the middle of the lighter colour is the kidney-bean sized baby you are carrying; this combined with the features that have developed already tell me you're about 8 weeks pregnant."

They exchanged a look and replied "Vegas."

"Ah yes, the elopement I heard about. Well, looking closer, the baby is developing normally and your pelvis is currently unaffected. I'll check you over thoroughly today and we'll chart that with weekly appointments. I know it's possible that you'll miss a lot of your appointments due to being out of state, but as much as possible, I want to see you every Monday morning from now until you deliver. When you miss the appointment, I want to see you as soon as you return; I'll make time no matter how busy I am and I want you to do the same. If you are away at all over Christmas, let me know now and I'll look into who could see you over the break."

"We'll be down near Marion from the 23rd for about 2 weeks."

"I'll look into that and get back to you. Now, I'll print a picture off for you, we'll get you some information I want you both to read over and a list of foods I need you to avoid as much as possible."

New Section-

They walked into the meeting room at about a quarter past 10 to find everyone was waiting for them.

"You're here; you're finally here," Garcia and JJ chorused happily and Emily smiled as she moved to embrace them.

"What they mean is you're late."

"We don't mean that at all. Garcia would you do the honours?"

"Way ahead of you sweetpea," she said as she smacked Derek on the back of the head.

"Hey, what was that for?"

"Mistaken ideals."

JJ bounced slightly. "A whole week of skiing in France. A whole week! Can you believe it? Will turned out to be dreadful where snow is concerned but he had fun cause I had fun and I skied for a whole week!"

Garcia and Emily exchanged amused smiles as Emily took her seat beside Dave and the older man quietly welcomed her back.

"Me next," the other blond said and Emily gestured for her to go ahead as JJ picked up the controller for the screen. "Kevin is the very best! We had two days in Paris at Disneyland of all places and then we spent four days exploring Italy and getting up to mischief. It was so great!"

Aaron raised an eyebrow. "Is any of that mischief going to come back to bite me on the butt?"

Garcia pretended to be affronted as everyone laughed.

"What about you chickee? You have a gorgeous tan there so I'm guessing Europe wasn't the destination."

Emily stretched slightly and settled back with a contented smile. "Bora Bora, Tahiti. White sand beaches, crystal clear blue waters and a luxury bungalow situated over the water. It was perfect."

"And we are perfectly late. You ladies can continue to share stories later. JJ?"

"Right; coming back to the real world. Augusta Police believe they have a serial rapist. Six victims in the last three months; one a weekend every second week. All were raped by the same man but the DNA is not previously in the system."

"So if we catch him in the act we can match him up but finding him is going to be difficult. Do we know anything about him?"

"He doesn't kill his victims and he has a type; all are voluptuous blonds with delicate facial features by the looks of it."

"All the women report a man with a really deep, husky voice ordering them to take off their clothing and lie on their backs with their eyes closed. He threatens them with a knife and if they don't comply he usually cuts them a bit to make his point. None of the women who were cut fought after that so we don't know if he'd be willing to kill as yet to get what he wants."

"It says here he wears a ski mask and he only ever takes off his pants. So we don't know what he looks like?"

"All the victims agree the man is tall but he comes at night, moving fast and they all say once they saw the knife they didn't pay much attention to anything else. He's slight, but all say that despite that, he's ah, rather large."

Garcia and Reid looked down as their faces went red and Emily raised an eyebrow as she looked at six similar descriptions. "This almost sounds like he uses a dildo; otherwise he'd have to be taking pills to gain this kind of size."

"I can see what may be available in Augusta in that, um, area but it might be hard to pinpoint with most of that kind of thing sold via the black market."

"Anything you could find would help Garcia. Also, dig into their backgrounds and see if you can find anything linking these six women to each other beyond their looks. And see if you can find an event that may occur only every two weeks that might get this guy going."

"Will do boss man." Garcia gathered up her computer and notebook and walked out muttering about joining a gym and getting an appointment with her hairdresser as soon as possible.

They all smiled as they watched her go. "JJ, call Augusta and let them know we're on the way. Everyone, wheels up in 30 minutes."

End-

**A/N: Sorry for the subterfuge but I don't want everything to just be sunshine and roses for our fav couple; I would like them to have to work at some of it.**

**As always, I love reviews, so please let me know what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Notes at the end. Sorry about the update time.**

The Colour Red – Chapter 2

"Okay, I managed to get us three rooms that might actually work out for us. We've got 2 standard rooms and a triple. Emily and Hotch get one of the rooms, I get the other and you three guys get the room with the three extra-large single beds in it."

Emily raised an eyebrow. "We could just keep things business as usual."

The look Aaron shot her had her lifting her hands in surrender as a spurt of pleasure washed through her. Knowing he didn't want to be separated anymore than she did made her feel good inside despite the nausea currently plaguing her.

"Why do we have to share?" Derek demanded.

"Because this is the only hotel in town within the budget we are allotted and those were the only rooms available. Deal with it," JJ said as she handed out key cards.

They had landed at the airport to find a message waiting for them; the police had a suspect in custody and they may not even be needed. They were to go to their hotel and wait for further instructions. They'd been half-decided about just stopping past the station anyway when they'd received a call from Strauss backing up their orders. Unable to fly out until the next day anyway, they'd decided to check in and get dinner while they waited.

The second Aaron got their door open, she shoved past and limped quickly into the bathroom. 15 minutes later, she'd decided she'd rather share a room with JJ than with the man who'd put her in this position.

Hearing a knock at the door, Aaron opened it and shot an inquiring look at the group on his step.

"How far along is she?" Dave asked mildly.

He wasn't that surprised that they'd figured it out; Emily had been sick on the plane as well and he'd heard the louder noises coming out of the rooms on either side of him.

"About 8 weeks and utterly miserable. It didn't hit til the honeymoon either. She's not pleased."

"Well I'm not sharing, so she can just stay with you," JJ said with a wink and he grinned in return.

"That's not very nice," Emily muttered as she appeared under his arm. She'd stripped off her suit jacket and shirt and pulled on the red singlet that always drove him mad.

"Trust me honey, when the nausea passes you'll be horny and wanting sex. You may as well keep him close by for those moments. He can always sleep on the floor when you don't want him."

"Okay; _way_ too much information," Reid said as his face went beet red and he turned away.

"I'm with the kid on that one," Derek muttered and followed Reid.

"I'm just not going to comment. Can I do anything to make it better?"

Emily smiled tiredly at the older profiler. "Can you fast-forward time to when these initial weeks are over?"

Dave smiled gently. "Think of it this way; your second trimester starts in about four weeks and with luck you'll be free of the worst of it."

"At the moment that isn't really that comforting. What time is dinner?"

"You can sleep for an hour if you want," Aaron said as he lightly rubbed the silky skin of her shoulder.

She studied him for a moment and muttered, "You're almost too good to be true."

He watched her walk to the bed and turned back to the door. "Dinner at seven okay with you guys?"

They agreed and walked off and he turned into the room to find Emily was already sound asleep and dressed only in the top and her panties. He sighed as he attempted to squash his sudden desire. He walked to the bed and gently tugged the covers from under her body. She mumbled a protest but settled as she snuggled under their warmth. He soothed a hand over her hair and straightened.

How he'd gotten this lucky twice in his life with this woman he didn't know, but he did know he'd do nothing knowingly to screw it up.

He gathered his toiletries and a change of clothes and walked into the bathroom, leaving the door cracked slightly in case she woke and needed it in a hurry. Turning on the cold water, he attempted to curb the raging fire she'd woken in his blood.

New Section-

Dinner had been a pleasant affair for everyone except Emily. She'd been able to sit with them but one bite of the meal she'd selected was enough to undo the good her nap her done for her. Luckily the chef had a wife who was also pregnant; while she'd been off throwing up yet again the chef had happily agreed to make her some toast instead.

They were just returning to their rooms when the call came in that their suspect had been cleared and released, his DNA not a match. They collected their gear and headed immediately to the station.

They gathered outside the station before walking in together.

"Emily, how do you want me to introduce you? Agents Hotchner and Hotchner might be a bit confusing?"

Emily smiled slightly. "Introduce me as Prentiss-Hotchner. I don't want to confuse anyone but I've wanted to be a Hotchner for _years_; I'm not giving it up now that I've achieved it."

"You say that as if you mean a period of time longer than the few years you've been on the team," Derek remarked as he held the door for her.

She flicked a look at Aaron and saw a slight shrug.

"I do mean _years_; we met first when I was 24."

"And you knew then? How did we not pick up on that in the now?"

She smiled. "I _am_ a profiler too Derek; I know how to keep secrets when it's necessary."

He followed her into the station, trying to get more information from her as they all followed JJ and Hotch. As a detective approached, he stopped bullying her and turned his attention to the work at hand.

"Detective Warner? I'm SSA Jennifer LaMontagne; we've spoken on the phone a few times."

"Yes, of course. I'm sorry to have messed you all around; we wanted to be sure we still had a case before we brought you in. DNA came back as not a match to the guy we held so we let him go."

"These agents are SSA's Hotchner, Morgan, Rossi, Prentiss-Hotchner and Dr Reid."

"I didn't think fraternisation of that level was allowed in the FBI?"

Hotch shrugged. "It normally wouldn't be but they are making an exception for us for as long as we keep our personal relationship from work."

"Fair enough; I'd happily work with my wife if I could figure out how to get a hairdresser on payroll. We have a room set aside for you to work from and the other bits and pieces you requested. Anything else you need, just ask. The sooner we catch the bastard terrorising my city, the safer I'll feel about leaving my lovely blond wife home alone at night."

"Do we know how he's gaining entry to their properties?"

"All the women confirm they left a window cracked for fresh air when they went to bed. Mesh frames were either fully removed or they were cut up until he could get through them. He appears to leave by the same route, for all doors are still locked when he leaves."

"Right then. JJ, you'll come with me when we interview the latest victim and the previous ones. Detective, would you mind taking Morgan and Rossi to the latest crime scene?" He nodded easily. "Good, and I'll get Emily to stay here with Reid and work the geographic profile and go over the statements we already have for any matching information."

Everyone nodded and got to work.

Reid and Emily walked into the room indicated and set about getting everything all set up. They were just finishing up when a young officer walked in with a large drink and a box of crackers.

"These are for you mam, courtesy of Agent Hotchner."

She blinked in surprise and smiled at him. "Thank you. It was very kind of you."

He smiled shyly and slipped out of the room.

"Where's my drink?"

Emily rolled her eyes and sat on the table with the cup in hand. "Lemonade for you is just a drink. For me, it's a godsend because it settles my stomach when it's flat. Unless you want me to throw up?"

He shuddered. "So it doesn't bother you that Hotch took JJ and left you here with me?"

"Not at all; he asked me before we left what I wanted to do. I told him I would be quite happy to avoid moving about too much so he said he'd leave me here."

"Oh. Well, we should get started on this."

"We should also call Garcia to see what she's come up with already on her end; make sure we aren't doubling up on information too much."

"Hmm," Reid murmured as he picked up a few pins. "How about you tell me the locations and I pin and draw."

"Sold."

New Section-

"Is it just me or are a few things not making sense to you either?"

Aaron shot a brief look at JJ as they returned to the station. "How do you mean?"

"Well, for one thing, except for this guy wielding a knife, it sounds like he isn't that violent. Then there is the insistence on him taking his victims' underwear with him. He's too controlled to be using the underwear to get going on this so what does he need it for?"

"It is a bit unusual to have an unsub that would rape without using violence. Insisting his victims keep their eyes closed as well displays that he is trying to minimise the impact to them."

"So he's a sexual predator with a compassionate side?"

"When you put it like that, it doesn't make as much sense as I would like. As to the underwear I'm stumped as well; perhaps we can track him by seeing where each garment was purchased."

JJ nodded and climbed out of the vehicle. They waited as Dave, Derek and Det. Warner joined them.

"What'd you find?" Aaron asked.

"Same things as at the other crime scenes; window mesh cut open and no fingerprints anywhere. This scene reveals as little as the others did; makes me wonder if maybe he's done this before somewhere else and perfected the technique for use here."

"We can get Garcia to run the DNA through the national database but that'll take more time and we only have a week to go before he strikes again if he sticks to schedule."

"Nothing indicates he's in a rush. He's the most controlled unsub I've ever seen. Twelve plus weeks and no fatalities, no mistakes. I think we're going to have trouble catching this one."

With Dave's ominous words hanging over them, they walked into the station. Entering the back room, they found Reid studying the map in front of him and Emily sound asleep on the couch and covered with a cop's jacket.

Dave chuckled softly as Aaron froze, work totally fleeing from his mind. Derek and JJ hid smiles and Detective Warner frowned slightly.

"Is she alright?"

Dave smiled at the younger man reassuringly. "She's fine. She recently had knee surgery and that coupled with morning sickness is knocking her about a bit. She'll wake in the morning embarrassed about zoning out and ready to get back to work."

"How long's she been out?" Aaron asked Reid quietly.

Reid twisted his upper body to look at the clock. "Only about half an hour. We covered heaps initially and then we stopped speaking. She moved to the couch to put her leg up and I guess the quiet coupled with the day caught up to her and she fell asleep. An officer bringing me a fax Garcia sent spotted her sleeping and thought she might be cold."

"So what do you have?"

"The geographic profile isn't making a lot of sense. These women are spread out across the city over a 30 mile radius. Garcia finished checking for any overlap and for the most part there isn't any. A couple of them frequent the same gym and shop in the same supermarket. A couple travel for work but they all do different things. They all go to church, but there are three different denominations represented here. I thought to run a church location profile but that hasn't revealed anything either. I've just been standing here for the last five minutes trying to see if I missed anything initially but as yet I'm drawing blanks."

"JJ suggested perhaps there might be overlap where the underwear taken was purchased; we'll get Garcia to look into it. Keep at it here, but don't worry too much if you can't come up with anything. It might just be that this time the big break will come from somewhere else."

"What'd you guys find out?"

"Everything with this latest victim is the same as the previous ones. There are no clues to go on but Morgan did suggest it was possible he perfected the technique elsewhere so we'll get Garcia on that also. I think for tonight we need to stop, step back and come at this with fresh eyes in the morning."

Everyone agreed. Reid returned the jacket to the cop as Aaron lifted his wife and headed for the door with JJ following with Emily's gear and shoes. Morgan and Rossi closed the room down for the night and getting in their vehicles they returned to the hotel.

End-

**A/N: I know this chapter is a little slow and with little information; for the first time, I'm actually having trouble writing it. Hopefully that will clear soon. Please stick with me; things will get rocky for a bit and it's going to rain and then the sun shall shine again.**

**As always, I love reviews, so please let me know what you think.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'm sorry, I'm sorry, so sorry. I know I'm completely overdue for a chapter or 6 but finding energy for anything in the last few weeks has been difficult due to a change in working conditions that is only just now beginning to ease. I know it isn't the best excuse, but it's the only truthful one I have to offer. Hopefully this chapter will make up for the lack of postings over the last three plus weeks.**

**Kudos to hazmat who in a day and a half not only read everything of NPH from 1 through to this current work but reviewed every single story and every single chapter too.**

**Thanks also to those who continue to read and add my work or even me to their favourites lists and thanks to my regular reviewers also. You guys make this all worth it.**

**WARNING: This chapter contains sex scenes and adult themes. Please proceed with caution. **

The Colour Red – Chapter 3

Emily woke wrapped in warmth and her favourite sensation; Aaron equals safety. Wrapped in her husband's arms, with his scent all about her, she could think of nowhere else she would ever rather be. She assessed her overall condition slowly and carefully, not wanting to disturb the man at her back if she could help it. She felt well rested with a settled stomach but that was no indication since she hadn't yet moved. A slight shift of her head let her see the time was not quite 5am. Another slight shift, this time in her leg told her that her knee was doing well also.

"Go back to sleep love; it's early yet."

Hearing Aaron's sleepy voice and feeling his arms tighten around her waist tripped desire in her body and sliding round in his arms to face him put her naked body flush against his morning arousal. A moan at the friction of the action brought her more fully awake and had her rocking her hips in closer to him.

She was definitely feeling horny.

He bridged the last distance between them and kissed her. He slid a hand down her hip to cup her ass as his other hand cradled her head and kept her close. They ground their hips together as he rolled to his back and pulled her on top.

"We'll have to be really quiet here. Otherwise we'll wake the others."

"It could be interesting," she murmured before indulging her desire to nip at his earlobe.

"I'll leave you to deal with the others then," he agreed as he sucked at the soft skin just behind her ear.

She wiggled against him. "On the other hand, lots of kisses could be beneficial to keeping me quiet and would heighten greatly this sexual experience."

"You'll end up with whisker burn," he replied as he moved down her body biting and licking as he went.

She sighed happily as he came back up and latched hungrily on her breast. "That I can definitely deal with, particularly if kisses are involved."

They drew out the foreplay because they both enjoyed the intimacy and because they had the uninterrupted time to do so. They were careful to keep marks on the skin below the shoulders but by the time Aaron sunk to the hilt in her tight depths, she definitely had a hickey low on her neck.

He rolled again, placing her underneath him so he wasn't forcing her to use her knees for leverage. He raised his upper body and gently stroked her face until her eyes opened and she looked up at him.

"I need you to promise me that if _anything_ I do in the bed over the next seven to eight months is painful or even uncomfortable that you'll tell me straight away."

She smiled gently up at him, noting a wealth of love and adoration in his gorgeous brown eyes as he gazed down at her. She lifted her hand and cupped his cheek. "I have no desire to mess with this beautiful creation we are forming between us; you will be the first to know _immediately_ if I feel something isn't right."

"Good."

He leaned down and gently licked the mark he'd placed on her neck before shifting back to a position where he could watch her face. He started to move in and out of her delicious warmth and she fought closing her eyes in order to maintain the intimacy of their locked gazes but it was a losing battle as his movements and his touch, his frequent kisses and gentle nips and licks sent her soaring ever higher.

He took her to the edge of orgasm and pulled back, leaving her on the brink for a moment before his mouth claimed hers and distracted her with sweet kisses. When she realised he hadn't sent her all the way, she whimpered and attempted to shift her hips closer but found his lower body pinning her to the bed. Knowing she couldn't move, she clenched her inner wall muscles in an encouragement for his continuing motions but though the action threw his head back and produced a low moan, he continued to stay still above her. She blinked up at him and opened her mouth to query what his game was when he pulled back and thrust hard back into her body causing her to thrash and cry out under him, bringing his mouth back to hers to silence her screams.

He waited again until he could feel her close to the edge before he pulled back and repeated the process. He continued to torment her in this manner until her breath came in sobs and she was nearly crying as she begged for her release; this time when he pushed in, he drove them both over the edge. Remembering at the last second that she needed to be quiet, she set her teeth into his shoulder to muffle her screams.

Aaron rolled them to the side and folded her close. She snuggled deeper to him and yawned hugely.

He chuckled softly. "You don't have time to sleep love, unless you would forego the shower and wear the smell of our sex on your luscious body for us to smell throughout the day."

She shuddered slightly. "I have no desire for the rest of the team to be even more aware of what we were just doing than they already must be." She tipped her head back just enough to see his face. "Not that I'm complaining, because I'm really not, but what on earth were you thinking just now with that. I thought the aim was stealth."

He grinned, that grin males get that is entirely self-satisfied and all-knowing after a job they _know_ they've done well. "My only goal this morning was to extend your pleasure for as long as possible. I fully intend to repeat the performance at a later date where I can luxuriate in your screams because I happen to be very turned on by them. But not today."

She shuddered again. "Definitely not today. If I can actually walk at all, I'll be a very lucky woman indeed. I feel rubbery and weak-kneed at the moment."

Aaron laughed delightedly and shifted to a standing position. He leaned down to kiss her lightly and very nearly forgot their lack of time as she eagerly pushed up into him. He scooped her up and carried her to the bathroom and somehow over the course of the next 20 minutes he managed to keep his mind entirely on getting them both clean and not on how desperately he wanted to take them both back to bed.

New Section-

"JJ, do me a favour next time we go on a case and book one of our rooms away from the rest."

Emily smiled in amusement as Derek shot her a dirty look. "Why Derek; did we disturb your beauty sleep? How thoughtless of us," she said with faux sincerity as the rest of the team approached.

JJ rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, I already had that one well and truly covered."

Dave smiled at Derek and JJ's grumpy looks before turning to the heart and soul of their group. "Not that I don't love you Emily because I do, but are you always that loud?"

She shot him a surprised look. "That was me being quiet."

They all looked at her blankly, then Dave clapped Aaron on the shoulder, causing him to wince and dropped it away from his touch. "Got yourself a screamer did you?"

"I'll never kiss and tell," he replied as his wife thumped Dave hard on the arm.

"Ouch; she bites. And what's with the shoulder Hotch?"

Aaron shot Emily a quick look and she leaned into him and murmured in his ear, "I might have been nice about it if they were but I think a little revenge is in order. Overshare a touch, but don't go overboard with it."

He turned his head and kissed her quickly because he couldn't not when she was this close and turned back to the group. "Actually, she really does bite."

He turned to the waiter as the man approached as it dawned on them what he meant by that statement and suddenly none of them could look at her as they all blushed. She laughed as she gave her own order; what a glorious day it would be.

New Section-

Over the next week, they worked every angle they could think to work and at every turn they came up against a brick wall. There were no clues, no evidence and the victims couldn't come up with anything new, no matter how hard they tried.

The only real lead of the week came after Garcia finished chasing down everyone's movements in the weeks prior to each of the attacks. Every one of the women who had been attacked had purchased a pair of red lingerie from the same store. Reid and Emily chased down the lingerie angle, getting a list of everyone who had frequented the store and purchased something. They also spent time with each of the assistants to see if they might remember someone being in the store frequently enough to stand out if they hadn't purchased anything. None of the women could pinpoint any one person who stood out.

Reid and Emily spent the next few days in tracing receipts and matching them up. Only three men had made purchases and all three men had alibis for most, if not all, of the nights in question.

Thursday night rolled around and Emily was once again on the couch, though at least this time she was awake as she read through some notes she'd made throughout the week. The rest of the team sat at the table and worked through other paperwork. They all knew the clock was ticking and the unsub was due to pick a new victim if he hadn't already.

She yawned and looked at the clock. It was late, and the latest she'd managed to keep her eyes open all week, having fallen asleep on the couch every night they'd been on the case. By now the entire station knew she was expecting and though she'd been a bit embarrassed at the knowing looks and teasing comments, everyone had been surprisingly nice about it. Someone always provided lemonade for her, one supersized cup in the morning, one in the afternoon and her dinner cup came from her husband when the team met together to share the days' highlights. Snacks and plain crackers also frequently appeared in the room for her and she'd taken to sharing them out because she was getting too many to eat on her own. In addition to this, according to JJ, the first two nights she'd fallen asleep, one of the officers had given up his jacket to keep her warm. After that, Aaron had purposely grabbed an additional suit jacket for her use while he was out and about.

She snuggled down in the cushions and pulled the jacket of the day up around her shoulders, breathing deep as her eyes fluttered shut and the notes she'd been looking at slipped to the floor.

She forced her eyes open with another yawn. "Aaron, I've decided it's your fault I'm so darn tired all the time."

Derek and Dave snorted in amusement, Aaron shot her a tender smile that melted her annoyance away and Reid ignored her as JJ muttered, "Who do you think I blamed when exhaustion was my best friend?"

They all laughed outright at that and Aaron stood. "I don't think we are going to get anything more done with this tonight. Let's hit the sack and come back on this first thing in the morning. That includes you, Dr Reid."

Reid protested, but allowed them to herd him out the door.

New Section-

"This is driving me crazy," Aaron complained as he lay back on the bed and waited for Emily to finish up in the bathroom and join him.

"What is?"

"This, the case. The lack of evidence and witness information. We haven't made any progress at all and I hate the fact that I think we need the unsub to make a mistake with a new victim for us to have a chance of catching him."

"Reid and I thought today that maybe the reason we are only seeing one attack in a fortnight here is that this guy may not actually live in the city, but is only visiting for the night. She's checking other states for similar attacks but has so far come up blank. She said she'd get a preliminary list together of men of approximate height and weight to what has been described and will get it to us first thing in the morning. Depending on the amount of names on the list, perhaps Reid and I can help with checking these men out. We've done just about all we can in the meeting room and I think we'd both like a change of scenery."

"Even if the list isn't that long, perhaps we can mix things up anyway. You can come out with me and we'll leave JJ in the office with either Derek or Dave and Reid can go out with the other."

"Sounds like a good idea," Emily agreed as she walked out of the bathroom, flicking the light off as she went.

He watched her walk naked towards him and shook his head slowly. "I can't get over the fact that every time I see you I just want you more. It's crazy and you're so hot and if you aren't feeling up to some hot loving you should tell me now..."

She cut him off by straddling his waist and leaning in to kiss him. She pressed her hands to his wrists to control his movements and took her time kissing him before she pulled back and licked her lips.

"I have this desire right now to indulge in something decadently slow and sexy and sweet. Nothing rough or too fast. Can you come to my party?"

"Mmm, sounds like a great party baby."

He eased his wrists out from under her hands and gently tunnelled his hands into her hair. They kissed leisurely, neither in a hurry as their hands gently explored the other. When they came together it was slow and intimate and though they struggled to keep to the pace they'd started with, they somehow controlled their moves and what washed over them as they crested and floated back down to earth brought them to tears. They spent long moments just resting in the others' embrace, kissing gently and speaking of their love before sleep claimed them and they rested for the day ahead.

End-

**A/N: Again, I am so sorry for the length of time it's taken me to get this chapter out.**

**The next chapter will pick up on the case more so stay tuned for some danger and a little action.**

**As always, I love reviews, so please let me know what you think.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: A new job is curtailing my efforts to get back to regular 1-2 day postings but I will do my best to keep up with my self-imposed schedule.**

**I'm not so sure I'm any good at this case fic writing biz (feel free to tell me differently) but you keep adding the story to your favourites or update requests so I guess I'll keep going with it and I'll see what the future holds for our favourite team of profilers.**

**Thanks again to those who continue to read and add my work or even me to their favourites lists; please feel free to also review my work. I'd love to know what you think.**

**WARNING: Content in this chapter may be unsuitable for younger readers.**

The Colour Red – Chapter 4

The list Garcia provided the next day was longer than anyone was expecting. Hotch made the decision to keep the teams as they were for professional reasons with Reid and Emily to take on part of the list. He also asked for and received the manpower to run six additional teams of two to help run down the list in a day. No one needed to say that they had less than 24 hours before another woman's life was ripped apart forever; they all already knew it.

New Section-

"How's your knee?"

"My knee is fine; now ask me how my stomach is doing?"

"If it's any help I'll remind you that this is the last stop on our list."

"It does help. Do you mind if we stop for lemonade on the way back to the station?"

Reid murmured an affirmative as the house came in view. Emily pushed her nausea to the side and took in a deep breath to steady her slightly spinning head as they took in the immaculate gardens and clean lines of the two storey property framing the man currently pulling a suitcase out of the car. She checked the folder in her hand and nodded.

"That's Kim Wheats. He's a general manager for a food distributor in New Jersey and he comes home for a visit every weekend."

"Home?"

"His mother lives here. Father's recently deceased. He arrives Friday afternoon and leaves Sunday lunchtime after church like clockwork. He's been doing the same thing for the last 8 years ever since he moved states. Hotch flagged him as a possibility so Garcia is currently pulling up in depth information on him and his past."

"Do you find it strange being married to Hotch and having to switch between the personal and the professional?"

She gave it serious thought as they watched Kim walk up to the door and disappear inside the house. "Not really. I mean, at work I still think of him as Hotch whereas everywhere else he's simply Aaron to me. Despite the rings I now wear I still have a professional obligation to keep and I intend to do it so well that there is no doubt I'll still be working with my husband when we are retired from the Bureau. Besides that, there is a subtle difference between Aaron Hotchner the family man and Aaron Hotchner the agent. Most wouldn't notice it and I know Haley couldn't pick it, but I see it and I respect it. It's what makes working with him doable; I simply look for which man I'm speaking with and I address him accordingly."

"Why couldn't Haley see the difference?"

"I believe it is because she only wanted the family man; she never understood that the working professional was so tied up in the family man that trying to separate his two sides was like trying to destroy him. Despite the grief it caused him, I'm glad she left Aaron because it gave him free reign to be the man she never allowed him to be."

Reid nodded thoughtfully and followed her up the driveway. At the door she pressed the doorbell and they waited. When the door was opened a minute later they were looking at a handsome man about 6 feet tall, with broad shoulders, a trim waist and stylish glasses framing hazel eyes.

"May I help you?"

"Kim Wheats? I'm SSA Hotchner and this is Dr Reid; we're with the FBI. Might we have a word with you regarding the recent rapes happening here in Augusta?"

He looked at her steadily for a long minute; long enough that she thought about making her request a demand. When he finally replied it wasn't with what she'd been expecting. "You should come in; this might take awhile."

Reid flicked her a look but followed her into the house without any other sign that he was as nervous about all this as she was. Kim led them to a sitting room and asked if they wanted anything to drink. After they'd both declined and they were all seated he asked curiously, "What led you to want to speak to me about the rapes?"

Emily blinked as her mind noted he hadn't automatically denied having anything to do with the recent attacks as the other three men they'd spoken to that day had. What was going on?

"Our technical analyst drew up a list of all the men in the Augusta area who work or live out of state and are only in this city every second weekend; the weekends of the attacks. Your name was on it. You arrive about this time every second Friday and you leave at Sunday lunchtime. The file we have says you were born here in this city but about 8 years ago you moved out of the state for work. May I ask why you chose an out-of-state job over a local one?"

He shrugged. "New Jersey Fresh offered me a far better deal than anything I'd found locally so I took it. Now ask me if I am the Augusta Rapist as the press have dubbed him."

She exchanged another look with Reid that confirmed he was just as confused as she was.

"Are you the man raping women in this city every second Friday for the last three months?"

"Yes, I am."

Another look, a deeper sense of confusion wrapping her up. Her head was beginning to feel just a little funny again and her stomach was in an uproar.

It was Reid who moved to clarify what they'd just heard. "Did you just admit to raping six women at knifepoint?"

"Yes, I did."

Emily raised an eyebrow as she pushed the slight floaty feeling in her head to the back. "Why would you admit to offences that will see you in jail for the rest of your life?"

"Maybe the better question to ask me would be why I have been raping these women without killing them. Or even just ask me why I am doing this."

"Alright; why have you raped these six women?"

"To answer that question properly will take time and shouldn't you read me my rights before we speak further. Otherwise I could get off on a technicality and I wouldn't want that."

Emily not only read him his rights but cuffed him as well because she didn't quite trust this calm man not to be playing with them for some reason.

"My mother and father would have sex all the time. They were like Energiser bunnies, a friend once said. It was too embarrassing for words; whether I had friends over or not wouldn't matter. If they wanted sex they'd have it and not always in a private place either. I can't count the number of times I walked into a room in this house that was not their bedroom to find them at it again. This room in particular seemed to be a favourite as was the kitchen and my dad's study. I didn't know who initiated things in the past and I didn't really want to know; as soon as I was old enough I got a management degree that enabled me to get any job I chose and when Fresh offered me the out-of-state job, I leapt to take it.

"I stuck to visiting maybe once a year and found that my leaving had only given my parents a bigger playground. When dad died three months back, I came home for the funeral and found out just what the deal was the hard way. Turns out my mother is a sex addict and had been since she first had sex at 15. Problem was an infection in her early 20's left her nearly numb and only the most vigorous of sex could be felt by her. She also needed a large cock and pain to gain orgasm. Dad wasn't that big on his own so they used a black market Viagra derivative to make him big enough for her needs to be met. His dying didn't make her needs go away so when I returned for the funeral and stayed here she cooked me a meal and she put the drug in my food so I wouldn't notice it until it was too late."

"Wait; are you saying your own mother drugged you and raped you?"

"Don't look so shocked Agent Hotchner. I'm sure it happens more frequently than I know."

"But your father was just barely dead and your mother was moving on to you already?"

Kim shrugged. "What can I say; I come from an extremely messed up family."

"Did you think about saying no?"

Kim shot Reid a dark look that made both profilers sit up straighter and pay more attention to their surroundings. "Of course I did. I first noticed the difference within minutes of finishing the meal. There was a painful tingling and stretching feeling and so I excused myself to the bathroom. I closed the door and got my pants off in a hurry and just stared in shocked horror as my penis became as big as I thought my father's had always been. I was so shocked I didn't realise I hadn't locked the door until my mother wrapped her hand around it and squeezed hard. Looking me right in the eyes she said she wanted all that inside of her now.

"I practically knocked her over as I got her hand off me and called her a whore and other names too horrible to mention in polite company. I went to my room, locked myself in and packed as fast as I could. Problem was, I'd never had such an erection before and it was extremely painful. I was just wondering what to do about it when mother called through the door that the only way to make the pain go away was to have lots and lots of sex. When I challenged that men needed time to recover afterwards she returned that the drug allowed the man to go many times before it worked out of the system and if he didn't have sex it tended to stay in the system longer and the pain would just get progressively worse and more crippling by the hour.

"I held out for about an hour after that before the pain became too much and I sought her out. We had sex continuously for six solid hours before she told me no more because she was bleeding and bruised and the pain was overriding the orgasms she was having. I demanded to know what the hell I was meant to do with the need still riding me and she told me to go out and find someone else. I found three women that night who were willing until they got a look at the size of me and then they said hell no and walked away. I tried a prostitute some girls said liked it extra-large and she too said no."

"So you did the only thing you thought you could do?"

"Yes. I grabbed a ski mask and a knife and went and took what I needed. I made them close their eyes because that was what I'd had to do to make the time spent with my mother bearable and I took their red underwear and burned it because that was the only colour my mother had in her underwear draw. As soon as the drugs were out of my system I went home only long enough to grab my things and tell my mother she'd never see me again and I left to return permanently to New Jersey. I figured her parting comment about seeing me again and soon was simply a cheap parting shot but I was quickly proven mistaken.

"That particular derivative was different to any Viagra I'd ever heard about. It was addictive. It took me almost two weeks to realise that the drug was the only thing that had changed and could therefore be causing my painful discomfort and..._want_ for lack of a better word. When I called her up to demand an explanation she told me the drug was addictive but refused to give me any more information. She said if I wanted it badly enough, all I had to do was come home.

"Over the last three months I've found that I can only last two weeks before the pain and need gets to be so much that it interferes with work. So I go home, let her drug me and play with me until she says enough is enough and then I go find a woman to slake the rest of my needs."

Reid leaned forward in his chair. "The thing I don't understand is why you would choose voluptuous blondes over slim brunettes like your mother."

"Don't you?"

"You choose your favourite type so that at least you are getting a little something you need from it all," Emily guessed with confidence.

He inclined his head in her direction with an approving look.

"But why give it up now? You've obviously come home to get your need dealt with but now you are giving yourself up before you get your fix. What's changed?"

"I knew it was wrong from the first but I was so shocked by the whole thing that my brain shut down for a few weeks and by the time it kicked in again, the addiction was too strong to kick on my own and being the man that I am and admitting to having extremely vigorous sex with my mother, even if it wasn't initially my fault, would have been too difficult for me to do. But now here you are and you have arrested me and when the cravings become too much, I know there will be a hospital and all the help I need. I'm relieved now to have this out in the open and to know that I won't be able to hurt anyone else because I will be locked away. It helps too, to know that my mother won't get off scott free because she still drugged me and she still had sex with me and I know that this is an offense she too can be charged for."

Despite their shock over Kim's revelations, Emily and Reid did what needed to be done. They collected the evidence Kim led them too and bagged it as best they could. Reid elected to stay at the house until forensics could arrive which left Emily to escort her willing prisoner out of the house.

Reid walked slowly along the front of the picture wall taking in all the photos that depicted the years the Wheats had lived as a family. He was studying the latest family portrait he could find when the sound of shots being fired had him diving for cover below the window line. He lifted his head cautiously as he pulled out his gun and his mobile. No one fired at him so he was able to get a clean look as he dialled 911.

Kim Wheats sat against the side of the vehicle, a gaping hole in his chest and his glasses cracked and hanging from one of his ears.

He continued scanning the front yard and his heart stopped as he spotted Emily on the ground, face down and not moving and a woman who looked like Kim's mother walking toward her with her gun drawn and pointed at the downed woman.

"911; what is your emergency?"

End-

**A/N: I'm working hard to make sure I get this story finished before the end of the weekend.**

**As always, I love reviews, so please let me know what you think.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Two chapters in two days. I feel a bit better about leaving you all hanging as much as I did. Just a bit, not a lot. Hope it's worth the wait at any rate.**

**Thanks for the warm welcome back and I promise to continue to do better even though I have a yen to read more than write and watch more than read. Deep breath in, deep breath out and push through it...**

**Thanks to Hazmat and fanficlover for reviewing; you guys are great! **

The Colour Red – Chapter 5

Her head screamed in pain and claws of fire ripped at her abdomen. She knew she needed to wake up and pay attention to her surroundings but for the life of her she couldn't remember why. She started to lift her head to look around and the dark washed over her and took her pain away.

New Section-

"JJ, who's lucky last on our list?"

"Phillip Watkins, 34. Works one week here in Augusta and the other week in Cambridge."

"Maine and Massachusetts? What does the file say about why he works in two different cities?"

"Garcia said it looks like he's in demand as an IT professional. He grew up here in Augusta and was good with computers then. He went to MIT and worked to put himself through his courses. When he graduated he was in great demand in Cambridge but was being called to come back here to the city that gave him his start."

"So now he travels weekly between cities?"

"Hotch, he's not a top priority. Garcia couldn't find anything weird in his life that would account for what he's doing. His life is going well, he's getting richer by the day and is soon by the looks of it to be married. The only reason he's on the list is because he leaves Saturday morning after the Friday where an attack occurred."

"Then we check him out and if he has an alibi for any of the nights in question we scratch him off the list. We both know..."

His voice trailed off as the police scanner crackled to life. "Shots fired; 3252 Laney Circuit, Milbrook. Officer down, I repeat, officer down. All available units requested. Civilian casualties reported. Caution is advised as there is an armed suspect involved. Be advised FBI is already on the scene."

"JJ!"

She was already scanning through the list of who was interviewing who as Hotch put on the siren and took the next right. She felt the blood rushing from her face as she looked up.

"JJ! Which team was there?"

"Reid and Emily."

She grabbed hold of the handle above the door and held on tight as the car shot forward faster than it had previously been going. When the phone rang she answered in a shaky voice.

"JJ, the police scanner just reported an officer down..."

"It's not us."

"Are you alright? You sound like you're scared."

"I'm sure you would be too if you were in the passenger seat with Hotch driving 100 miles an hour in a residential zone with kids and animals surrounding you."

"Good point. For what good it'll do since I don't know if he'll hear you, tell him we're on our way to back him up."

"I'll try. Oh my god, no."

"What? JJ what's wrong?"

"It's Emily."

New Section-

Reid felt as if his heart was going to burst out of his chest at any moment. He was keeping a close eye on Deborah Wheats as she crouched with her gun pressed up against the back of Emily's head. He doubted she was hearing him as he attempted to talk her into dropping the gun, but at least she hadn't shot Emily again. He really wasn't cut out as a negotiator though that was the least of his worries. His frequent brief looks at his partner showed him blood was pooling in two places which made almost no sense when he only recalled hearing two shots fired and he was certain at least one of the shots had hit Kim.

His analytical mind told him this left two scenarios, neither of which filled him with any joy. Either Emily had been shot in the head and was also bleeding out her baby or she was shot in the abdomen, with the baby bleeding out anyway and a dangerous head wound caused by her fall to the pavement. Either way, she was probably going to be dead before help arrived.

"She was taking Kim away from me; I had to stop her."

He blinked, startled that she'd finally spoken to him. He struggled to get his mind working anew on the issue before him as the sound of sirens and screaming tires filled the air.

"Why did you have to stop her. Surely there were other men out there who would have jumped at having sex with a beautiful woman. You could have found someone else; it wasn't the end of the world."

She shot him a derisive look. "Please don't patronise me. Who could possibly understand better than family. You don't talk about the skeletons in your closest _agent_, you bury them as deep as can be. I couldn't explain to a perfect stranger my need to have almost violent sex as often as I could. Only my son was fit to step into his father's shoes when he passed and now look what you've made me do!"

She was screaming the last, her eyes beginning to glaze over as car doors opened on all sides. Reid was vaguely aware that Hotch was there but all his concentration stayed on the woman who was staring at him with such hatred in her eyes.

"I didn't make you do anything and neither did Emily. You were the one who didn't get help for your addiction and you were the one who raped your son. Do you know he confessed everything to us with such relief? He knew we would have to take him away from you and that we could help him kick his habit. But do you know what he was happiest about?"

"What?" she whispered.

"He was happiest that us knowing what you'd done to him would ensure that you too landed in jail for what you'd done."

"That's a lie."

"I'm telling you the truth. He was glad to be getting away from you."

"That's a lie!"

"I'm not lying."

"I don't believe you! He wouldn't think like that."

"Everything I've just told you is true."

"No!"

"Yes."

"No! No, no no!"

She screamed her fury as she lifted the gun in his direction and for the first time he became aware that he might just have placed himself in danger. Time seemed to slow and sound faded as she started to stand with the rising gun. Then she jerked hard and spun around as she fell, a surprised look on her face as blood blossomed from about a dozen places on her body.

He was still standing there frozen when Derek appeared in front of him as if by magic. He let the older man take his gun from his hand as he watched paramedics swarm all over Emily. They were clearly anxious as they moved about but he still couldn't hear anything nor could he move. He could only watch as Dave and JJ did their best to keep Hotch out of the way as the medics did what they did best.

Then Derek was in front of him again and clearly trying to talk to him but again it was distant and everything was getting just a little blurry around the edges. Derek moved again and he watched as they loaded a stretcher into an ambulance and shut the doors after Hotch climbed in the back. As the lights strobed past his eyes his last coherent thought had to do with how dead he was going to be when his boss eventually got his hands on him.

New Section-

Aaron lifted his head at a soft noise from the door to the room. Dave stood in the door and watched Emily breathe, much as he'd been doing for the last hour.

"How's Reid?"

Dave shrugged slightly. "The doctor looking after him is at a loss; the tests and scans she's run are all coming up negative. She's running out of things to check for and if it weren't for the fact that he is breathing on his own and has a weak but steady pulse you wouldn't know he's alive. She's still checking though to be sure but thinks he'll simply wake up on his own and this will be one of those unexplainable illnesses. They've called his next of kin though to be on the safe side."

He sat back in his chair in surprise. "Reid actually has a next of kin who isn't his mother?"

"JJ said she suspected because she recognised in his behaviour what she'd been up to with Will before they came out with their relationship but she couldn't prove anything and he was really surprisingly good at denying it. She did call the Sanatorium in Vegas though and requested that his mother be informed if they thought it was safe for her mental health to do so.

"What did the doctor say about Emily?"

Aaron sighed as he looked back at his wife. "Thankfully she wasn't shot but that is about as far as the good news extends. She has a severe concussion with swelling occurring under her skull. Her pupils are responsive so they aren't too worried and feel the swelling will subside without causing any damage. They haven't yet figured out why she was bleeding internally and because they haven't finished all their tests yet they can't give me a definitive answer but the consensus is that she's lost the baby. There was simply too much blood for there to be any other viable explanation."

"I'm truly sorry Aaron. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Just keep me updated on Reid. He saved Emily's life back there; I need to know he's doing well again."

New Section-

Her head felt like it was stuffed with cotton wool laced with needles and knives and her abdomen felt scarily hollow as she woke to a white room smelling of antiseptic and flowers. The hand holding hers was limp but familiar as she turned her head to find Aaron with his head pillowed on an arm resting at her side. Monitors beeped quietly and the light was muted by a partially closed door.

She shifted her hand in Aaron's and softly called her husband's name. He reacted as if he'd been shot; his head came up and round quickly and his whole body jerked to attention.

"Emily, thank god you're awake."

"What happened?"

"I was hoping you could answer that for us."

She frowned as the pain in her head increased to the point where she felt like she was going to throw up. Her clever husband must have ascertained this from her facial expression because he helped her roll over and got a bucket in place just in time. When she was finally rolled back in to place she found she was surrounded by others. When a well meaning doctor shone a light in her eyes the pain increased so much so she was seeing colours and shapes she was sure didn't occur in nature and then the lights went out for the third time that day.

New Section-

"JJ? What are you doing here and where am I?"

"Hey Reid, you gave us all quite a scare. How are you feeling?"

"I'm not sure; everything's kind of fuzzy and vague right now. I remember Emily was shot and there was a crazy woman and then I don't recall anything after that."

JJ gently stroked his hair and smiled. "First off, Emily wasn't shot. When she fell she hit her head hard enough for it to bleed badly and the internal bleeding is still a bit of a mystery but both bullets hit your suspect and not her. We aren't too sure yet, but we think he pushed her out of the way when he saw his mother with the gun but he pushed too hard and she fell. We can't corroborate that though because the only witness, being Emily, is still unconscious. She's expected to make a full recovery though."

"What about me? Why am I here lying in a hospital bed with a fuzzy head and a fuzzier mouth?"

She helped him take a few sips of water before settling him back down. "I don't quite understand everything but back at the scene you just sort of froze after Mrs Wheats was killed. Derek said it was like you couldn't see or hear him and then you just passed out cold with no warning. When they got you here you were comatose with no responsiveness to external stimuli. They don't know what happened but about an hour ago you started showing signs of waking up and everyone looked a little happier."

"So they don't know what happened either?"

"Not a clue; all I know is they thought it was serious enough to attempt to get in contact with your next of kin and I called the Sanatorium just to be on the safe side. When we knew you'd be alright, I called them immediately and they admitted your mother was having a bad day and so they hadn't told her and now wouldn't need to. As to your next of kin, apparently they had to leave a message the first time around so they called again to leave another and headed her off before she'd even heard the first one. Thing is though, they won't tell me who she is." She cocked her head questioningly in his direction.

He shook his head slightly. "If she isn't on her way here, I won't tell you. I wasn't ready for everyone to know she existed and that hasn't changed." He resolved to call her as soon as he could to assure her that he really was fine though. "Emily is really going to be okay?"

"I promise you, she'll be fine. And Hotch will thank you when he manages to drag himself away from her side. If she'd been shot for real she'd be dead right now. You getting Mrs Wheats angry enough to attempt to take a shot at you saved her life and I doubt he'll ever forget it."

Too embarrassed to even think about that level of gratitude, he mumbled that he was tired and closing his eyes found sleep sucking him under.

New Section-

"Aaron?"

"Hey kitten. You sound more alert than the last time you woke. How are you feeling?"

"My head feels clearer but my stomach still feels hollow; like the time I had the abortion hollow. Did something happen to the baby?"

He lifted a hand and gently stroked her brow. "The theory is that you were carrying twins and your body, whether through the stress of the situation or for a more natural reason, tried to clear out your insides." He soothed her gently as she whimpered. "Love, the operative word here is _tried_. You miscarried one of the babies but the other one is still growing within you and the doctor feels that if you take it somewhat easy you should be able to carry it to term without further issue."

"So I'm still pregnant?"

"Yes," he said with a smile.

"You promise?"

"As much as I am able to be sure not being a doctor."

She perked up a little and asked cautiously, "How easy do I need to take things?"

He grinned and delighted in the weak smile she returned. "Until you hit your second trimester the doctor is suggesting you take time off and rest up. He said take the rest of the year off work and you should be fine when we come back after our new year break. Strauss about had a heart attack when I said you needed more time off but she is being incredibly understanding regardless and for some unknown reason seems to like us enough not to have given me too much grief."

"As long as I still have a job to return to."

"I'll make sure you do, I promise."

"How's Reid handling everything that happened? I swear, every time we work together something bad happens to me and he ends up feeling guilty over it."

He detailed what had happened and was thoroughly amused to find that, once assured he was medically alright, that she was more interested in the knowledge that he had a girlfriend than anything else that had happened. She was still pestering him for information on the subject when the rest of the team minus the man in question arrived to see how she was doing and the conversation turned to other things.

He settled back to watch over the proceedings and gave thanks again that his family was going to be well in the long run. With luck they would make it to the end of the year and all would continue to be well.

With luck...

End-

**A/N: All finished! Sigh. I just love reaching the end of a piece and knowing it is done and dusted. Hope you enjoyed it and are ready and raring to go with the next one. I'm doing something just a little bit different...**

**If you are dying to know who Reid has been sneaking around with, stay tuned; all will be revealed in good time and I will also be touching on Derek and Dave's lady **_**friends**_**.**

**As always, I love reviews, so please let me know what you think.**


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